Summary

Even though she tries to do the right thing, it doesn't mean he has to like it. At all.

A/N: All right guys! This chapter, I believe, is the start of the turning point towards the end. It's going to start getting more serious and a little less fun. For some reason, even though I had it planned out practically to a T, this chapter was unusually hard for me to get down on paper. I hope you guys are ready! Let's go!

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Itachi sighed quietly and deftly mavuevered around the roots sticking up in the forest he traveled. The road was one he'd become very attuned to. He was sure, by now, that he could navigate it with his eyes closed.

He hated to admit it, but he felt like he'd neglected Kagome recently. It had been nearly three weeks after the incident with Hidan, and though things weren't really overly busy at the hideout, and the fact that he'd had the chance to see her once since then, he'd avoided visiting too often for the sheer fact that Madara had been keeping an unusually close eye on him.

He didn't like it. At all. It made the Uchiha feel like the older male was up to something.

Muttering under his breath about lack of freedom in general, he stepped onto the main path and headed in the direction of Kagome's home. He then got a little sidetracked when a large crowd caught his attention. They all seemed to be gathered... around...

Where was the orphanage? And why was there smoke coming in the direction of where it was supposed to be? Thinking that if something had happened to the children, and knowing Kagome would be there if there was a problem, he re-routed himself and headed that way.

He wasn't disappointed. But he was inwardly shocked. It looked as though the large building had been burnt to the ground. What the hell had happened while he was gone?

'I know I thought about it, but I'd never actually go through with burning down the place,' the Uchiha thought, hurrying to the scene with a sense of forboding. If it was gone... had Kagome been there when it happened?

Before he could really get his imagination going, he spotted her consoling a little blonde girl. Oh, he recognized the kid immediately. Shizuka, though, had lost all airs of playfulness in her. Instead, she looked incredibly upset.

Striding up to the two girls, he cleared his throat awkwardly and put a hand on top of Kagome's head. "Hey."

She glanced up at him, gave him a watery smile and a nod, and went back to calming down the little blonde. "Hey yourself. You've been gone a while." The priestess spoke quietly, so as not to scare the eight year old. "I was worried."

"I had some... things to take care of. When... did this happen?"

"Last night. I came as soon I heard about it. By the time we got everyone out, there wasn't a lot we could do," she replied, moving her gaze to the dilapidated ruins, "It just... kept burning." She shivered; whether from being cold or the thought of the flames consuming the building, he wasn't sure.

"What about workers? Didn't they try to save it?"

"We tried. It was a kitchen mishap, and the whole building was made of wood," she answered, rubbing a hand through her tangled hair. She looked very tired, and he almost gave into the urge to tell her to go home and sleep before she fell over from exhaustion.

Kagome sighed and patted Shizuka gently on the back. Itachi stood by, unsure of what to do. The little girl was obviously upset about losing her home again. It was something he could sort of relate to. But his situation was very different than hers.

"I know it's hard right now, Shizuka. I can't even promise that things will get better, because I don't know if they will or not," the priestess murmured, pulling away so that she could cup the child's tear-stained cheeks. "But, no matter what, you just have to be strong. You'll see; there's a reason these things happen. Maybe we just need to remember that and think of all the happy things." The little blonde girl sniffled enormously and nodded, trying very hard to be brave for her 'Big Sister'.

"Miss Kagome!" One of the workers hurried up to her and explained something in rushed tones to the priestess. The Sharingan user next to her did not like the way she paled suddenly and nodded rapidly. It made the dark circles under her eyes stand out.

"All right. I'll be there in a minute," she replied, standing and steering Shizuka towards the rest of the orphan children. Itachi followed quietly, a faint sense of nausea growing in his stomach at the determined glint in Kagome's blue eyes. She was planning something.

"What do they need you for that requires your attention so?" he asked, almost dreading the answer. His stomach twisted at the wary look she threw him.

"I... There's... There's still a little boy trapped in the orphanage. They found him, but no one can get to him through the hole they found. I'm..." she gulped, then leveled him with a look, "I'm the smallest adult in the group, so I'm going in there and getting him out."

"No." His reply was sharp and immediate. She knew this was going to happen.

"But Itachi-!"

"Absolutely not!" the former heir hissed, grabbing her by the shoulders and stopping her. He whipped her around to face her and gave her a look so cold, she shivered from it, "Are you insane! That's like walking straight into a trap! Never!"

She lowered her head in submission, an act that she'd never done before in his prescence, and took a deep calming breath. She knew he'd be against the idea, knew that he was just trying to protect her, but the vehement dislike rolling off of him at the thought almost made her sick. Intense emotions that the tendency to do that to her sometimes. Especially when they were negative.

"Itachi... What if..." she hated that she was about to play this card, but knew that she didn't really have a choice in the matter. Not when there was a young life hanging in the balance, "What if that boy was your brother?"

The Uchiha reared back as though she'd slapped him physically. How dare she-!

"What if that was my brother?" She looked up at him then, tears swimming in her blue eyes, "Would you say no then?"

"I would not," he finally answered after a few moments, sighing in defeat, "But the fact is, you're risking your life for a complete stranger. I... I don't like it."

"I know," the priestess smiled grimly, reaching up and patting his cheek, "But I'm a priestess, Itachi. I can't just stand by and do nothing. It's in the job description. Right next to 'guard sacred artifacts from being used wrongfully'." Itachi blinked in confusion.

"... What?" Her eyes widened in surprise and she slapped a hand over her mouth far too late.

"Ummm... Oops?"

"You... You will tell me about that. Later; once all of this is over." He gave her a look that brooked no argument whatsoever, and she found herself nodding meekly despite the protests going on inside her head. Why had she let that slip out?

"I... It's a really long... story," she responded hesitantly, gulping at the curious fire in his dark eyes.

"I am a patient man," Itachi countered, crossing his arms over his chest and watching her closely, "I can wait."

'Yeah right. Patient my ass,' he mused inwardly; he wanted to know now. He immediately became antsy again when she glanced at the burned-down orphanage.

She nodded and swallowed again, this time in apprehension as she met his gaze again. "Right. I... need to go."

He didn't like it at all, but he finally nodded and stepped away from her. "If you..." She turned and looked back at him, the question clear in her eyes. "If you need me... just call."

"... Okay," Kagome whispered, a steely glint in her blue eyes and determination settling in her features. For a moment, she looked so much older and wiser than she was. It made him want to... but no. That was a foolish way of thinking. Impossible to even consider.

'Besides, I have nothing to offer her. I'm not long for this world, after all.' It was a grim way of thinking, but the last thing he needed was to even attempt any possible kind of relationship with anyone. And look where that way of thinking had brought him to. Waiting impatiently for her to return to him.

And then she walked away quickly, not once looking back, and hoping that he'd let her do this. If not for herself, then for the little boy trapped in the orphanage.

Then again, she didn't really need to worry. Even if he didn't like it, he'd give her the freedom to make her own decisions. And then he'd probably follow her anywhere. Even to the ends of the earth. If only to make sure she didn't get killed along the way.

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Crawling into the tiny hole the workers had found had been nothing short of embarrassing. She thanked fate that when she'd hurried out the door last night, she'd had the sense to throw on a pair of jeans instead of a skirt. Now, with her rear wiggling in the air, she inwardly thanked Itachi too. She could definitely feel more than a few stares as she scrambled into the hole and knew the ninja would not let her be taken advantage of in such a vunerable position.

He was very protective of her like that for some reason. It was really sweet of him. Huffing and puffing, she finally made it inside of the wrecked building. Standing up, she didn't even bother brushing the dirt and soot off of her, knowing it would be completely pointless. The most important thing was to find the kid.

"I'm in!" she shouted back, hoping the people on the outside would hear her.

"Good! I think he's nearby there! Just find him and get him out!" the worker near the hole shouted back to her, and she nodded subconsciously. When she realized he couldn't see her she responded with a loud "Okay!" and began to survey her surroundings. Nothing was recognizable to her anymore. The once clean and neat temporary home for the war orphans was now a hovel of sadness and dirty walls. A rat scurried by and she shivered. That hadn't taken very long.

"Okay. Gotta find the kid," the priestess muttered to herself, setting out and carefully manuevering around the fallen beams and crumbled walls. She vaguely recognized charred remains of chairs and toys, and she sniffled in sadness. This was so terrible! Kagome called here and there for the lost boy; and at first, she got no response. But as she got a little closer to the center, she heard the unmistakable sound of sniffling.

"Hello? Are you there?" the priestess called, turning the corner. She was immediately bowled over by a small body, and she knelt down to shush the boy as he cried into her shirt. "Shhhh. It's okay now! You're going to be fine!"

The brown-haired child nodded and looked up at her with huge watery brown eyes. "You're... Miss Kagome, right?"

"That's right! Now what's your name, sweetie?" she nodded, smiling happily and rubbing some of the dirt from his hair. The boy sniffled and muttered "Hiro" quietly to her.

"That's a good name, Hiro-kun! Now, let's get out of here," the time traveler answered, wiping a sooty smudge from the child's pudgy cheek, "Everyone's waiting for us, so let's go!" He nodded, smiling smally at the enthusiastic tone that she took. It took them almost no time at all to get back to the hole, and even less time to convice the boy to go ahead of her. She didn't like the possibility of being stuck in the rickety building, but her main focus was Hiro. He'd stopped several times, afraid of the small space he was crawling through, but she conitnued to encourage him to keep moving. It was the best idea, after all. What if the space really did collapse?

"You're okay, Hiro-kun! You're almost there!" Kagome encouraged the boy to keep going, "Don't give up!"

"Miss Kagome! What about you?" the brunette asked, glancing back at the older girl. He was really worried about her. What if the roof collapsed before she got out?

"I'll be fine, Hiro! Just keep going," the priestess smiled brightly, even though inside, she was quivering in fear. Hiro turned and crawled forward several more feet before shouting in happiness.

"I see the end!"

"Good job! You're almost there!" Something snapped behind her and she whipped around. Another support beam had just fallen, and the entire ceiling swayed dangerously. Kagome let out a whimper. She didn't want to be buried alive!

"Miss Kagome! We've got Hiro! Your turn! Hurry!" the worker shouted, drawing her attention again.

"Okay! I'm... I'm coming!" the dark-haired girl shouted, crawling towards the hole and starting to scoot in.

Meanwhile, Itachi paced rapidly on the other side, worry wearing a hole in his brain. Logically, Kagome was the smallest adult, thereby the best option to go in and get the child. On the other hand, the acid slowly creeping into his throat at the thought of her being in so much danger was making him incredibly antsy.

"I-Itachi-nii-san?" He looked down, a snarl beginning to form on his face. Shizuka's large blue eyes stared back up at him in fear, and all the fight suddenly left him. The little girl was just as afraid as he was. She was just better able to show it, while he'd been trained harshly to never let his fears show. Kneeling down, he patted the girl on top of the head.

"She'll be okay. Kagome is a strong girl," he replied to her unanswered question, alleviateing the child's fears somewhat and making his heart slow in confidence. He whipped his head around, though, when he heard something snap loudly.

"MISS KAGOME! GET OUT OF THERE!"

A long shrill scream was all they got in reply as one of the floors tumbled in on the small priestess. He was on his feet and by the hole too quickly for a normal civilian. He also found that he didn't really care if these people found out he was a ninja.

"KAGOME!" But of course, shouting wouldn't help. Starting forward, he grabbed the nearest plank of wood and started pulling. A hand on his arm stopped him and he turned to level an icy glare at the one who would dare keep him from saving his Kagome.

"Y-Y-You can't! What if you p-p-pull something and the r-rest collapse-ses!" the worker stuttered, shuddering in fear under the almost crimson glare of the fomer heir, "For all w-we know, she could still b-b-be alive! Do you want to ruin any possible ch-chance?" He had to walk away right then; preferably before he punched the guy. The fool was right, of course, but it didn't mean he wanted to agree with him.

"Stay where you are, Miss Kagome! We're going to try and dig you out!" another worker shouted. Itachi snorted and turned away. Like hell he was just going to sit there and do nothing. As he began to leave though, a small hand tugged harshly on his pant-leg. Glancing down, he took note of the dirty little boy that had crawled out of the orphanage and Shizuka holding tightly to his pants.

"Itachi-nii! Where are you going?" the little blonde girl asked in between sobs. He knelt down and gathered the two children to him. Leaning in, he whispered quietly to them.

"I'm going to find another way in," he replied, smirking at the awestruck looks he received, "I refuse to leave her in there, so I'm going to bring her back." The children nodded rapidly at the determined edge to his voice as it bolstered their low spirits, "But I have to go by myself. Kagome would never forgive me if the two of you got hurt. I need you to wait here, and I'll come back with her, okay?"

"Okay," the boy whispered, clutching Shizuka's hand and pulling her away from him. The eight year old girl thought carefully, then gave him an incredibly shrewd look. He couldn't believe such a small person was capable of such a glare.

"If you don't come back with her, I'll be really angry," Shizuka growled in what was supposed to be an intimidating way, even though tears were still leaking out of her blue eyes. Itachi had to suppress the urge to laugh at her. She was trying so hard to be a grown-up that it was ridiculous.

"I will. I promise." With that, he stood and walked into the shadows. Shizuka watched him carefully, and her jaw dropped when he flipped through a series of hand signs that she'd seen several ninjas do before simply disappearing in a puff of smoke.

'Itachi-nii is a ninja?' she thought, her throat going immediately dry at the thought of shinobi in general. She was terrified of them; they'd stolen her family away and landed her in an orphanage, after all. Then, she thought about the times that Itachi had been around Kagome, and her fear subsided. Itachi was a ninja. But he was a good one. Otherwise, she was sure the priestess wouldn't like him so much.

And she believed that with all her little heart.

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It took very little time for him to locate a back way in, but even then, with the edgy atttitude radiating off of him, he felt it had taken far too long. Navigating his way easily around the charred remains, he activated the highest level of his Sharingan without melding it into the Mangekyou. He hadn't needed to worry, though. Even from several rooms away, he could easily detect the bright glow of Kagome's strange chakra. It seemed to be... surrounding her?

Hurrying quickly, he ducked low through a broken down doorway and came into the room Kagome was sitting in. Her body was surrounded by a bright pink dome that flared immediately when a piece of the ceiling collapsed roughly onto it. The priestess shrieked inside and covered her head pathetically.

"Kagome? It's okay!" He rushed forward, coming as close as he dared to the light around her. In fact, the dome was acting like... a barrier. Her head shot up, tears streaming from her blue eyes and down her sooty cheeks.

"Itachi," the dark-haired girl breathed, hope blossoming in her eyes and wiping the fear from them. It made his heart swell to know that he could chase that fear away just by being there, "What are you doing in here?"

"Looking for you, of course," he replied gruffly, avoiding her gaze and willing the heat from his face when she smiled gently at him.

"I'm... really glad you're here." Putting the pleasantries aside for the moment, he let loose on what had really caught his attention.

"What... is this?" He'd never seen anything like it! Not even the barrier squads in Konoha were capable of something so... structured. Let alone one person being able to handle the kind of strain it took to erect one.

"It's... a barrier. I guess... when the floor collapsed, I just reacted and put it up," Kagome replied, shrugging as she watched him move carefully around the sides he was capable of getting to.

"It's... quite amazing, Kagome," Itachi countered, kneeling down and hesitating to touch it, "Will it be all right if I touched it?"

"I'm... not sure. You can try," she answered, gulping silently when his fingers got close and a sizzle started up. He glanced up sharply at her, Sharingan eyes whirling in excitement.

"You must tell me more about this after we get out of here," the former heir demanded quietly. He needed to know about what this type of barrier was capable of. Perhaps... it could be of some major use to him in the future.

Kagome licked dry lips and nodded at him. Itachi held out a hand to check the consistency of her barrier. But right as he touched it, the priestess realized something.

"Itachi! Don't-!" Her purification powers surged up, perceiving the Uchiha to be a threat, and blasted him through the wall and into the next room in a showy display of light and energy.

"ITACHI!"

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A/N: Annnnd CLIFFHANGER! Holy crap! I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm a little evil, aren't I?

So, anyways, please leave a review and let me know what you think! Until next time!